


Your Name

by LourenskiA



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alastor Has a Heart (Hazbin Hotel), Angst, Angst and Feels, Character Study, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Baggage, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Memory Alteration, Post-Extermination, Serious Injuries, StaticLoveTune Week, Vox is Sad (Hazbin Hotel), staticlovetune
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24914362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LourenskiA/pseuds/LourenskiA
Summary: It was easy to pretend all demons were heartless. It was easy to dismiss any caring or loving feelings towards others. In Hell, all that mattered was the capacity to hold power over the weak. It was easy for Vox to pretend it didn't matter whether or not he remembered his true name.He could pretend, but down here, sorrow never truly left. He still found it funny, though, that when chaos brought back the blurred fragments of the past, Alastor was the one to call him by the very name he thought was lost.
Relationships: Alastor/Vox (Hazbin Hotel), Valentino & Velvet & Vox (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 118





	Your Name

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my take on the Memories/Dreams prompt of Staticlovetune Week.
> 
> There's something I need explain in order for this to make sense. In the pilot, I think I heard Charlie's voice coming from Alastor when he was looking at the family picture. I headcanon that, involuntarily or not, he can tune in to people's "frequencies". It's not exactly mind reading, but it lets him learn more about them.
> 
> I also want to mention that Velvet gets pretty messed up in this. There's no blood or anything graphic, since she's literally a doll. But she's in pain and is still considered a "living" being, so keep that in mind if it bothers you.
> 
> English is not my first language. If you see anything out of place, please let me know. I'm more confident in my writing now, but I'm here to learn and improve.
> 
> I was inspired by Spirited Away, perhaps my favourite movie of all time, as I wrote this. I wanted to dive deeper into Vox's past and his feelings. I hope you find it enjoyable. :)

It was easy to brush off the disappearance of acquaintances and employees. It was to be expected after mass extermination. They were easily replaced, forgettable.

Those who stood at the top were mostly unaffected. Power did not earn them any respect from Heaven like it did from the lesser demons under their clutches, but it ensured them with safety until the cleaning was done with. They just had to sit down and wait, surrounded by the empire they built around themselves.

It was easy to pretend all demons were heartless. It was easy to dismiss any caring or loving feelings towards others. In Hell, all that mattered was the capacity to hold power over the weak.

When someone had enough power to protect themselves, their safety was often taken for granted. The value of their existence was also overlooked.

Velvet reminded him of someone, a memory without a face or a name that he knew would never come back to him.

Vox's memories of life were like a soaked letter. Even if it was there, even if he could touch it and hold it in his hands, there was no hope of ever understanding what was once written on it. Its contents were blurred and smudged, lost forever.

There was little to no need to adapt to his new reality and physical form after he manifested in Hell.

This was due to the fact that his previous reality was ripped from him.

Vox could recall what his reason to live was back then. He took the form of his passion, after all. He fulfilled his dreams of reaching success and becoming an infamous television host. As a demon, he achieved everything he failed to accomplish in life.

In the beginning, he felt rewarded rather than punished for his sins.

It took him quite some time to fully understand the complexity of his punishment.

Blinded by his foolish ambitions, Vox spent his life setting aside names and faces, never bothering to memorize them or look them in the eyes. He merely used them as leverage to reach the top, disposing of them without a second thought once the objective was accomplished.

It was when he truly stopped to stand in front of a mirror years after his death that he finally understood.

When he realized he wanted to look at those faces and call those names, it was already too late. Salvation died like the smiles once directed at him, withering like their hope to hear _him_ say their names.

His punishment was to lose _his own_ face and name, having them taken from him and tossed away to join the many others he himself disposed of.

How was it possible to miss something that was forgotten? His memories were nothing but muted words and blank spaces. It was like they never existed in the first place.

He hated how his chest ached from missing things that he never saw or heard.

Lucifer gave him the opportunity to earn everything he could have dreamed of. However, he was not to be mistaken.

The true form of his punishment was regret.

He learned to exist with the weight of it. Once again, he willed himself to forget.

The realization that he hadn't changed one bit stung like a weeping stab wound when Valentino stormed through the doors of his studio with Velvet in his arms. Or better yet, what was left of her.

All screens surrounding them stuttered and hummed with static, including Vox's own.

He could hardly believe the sight in front of him. He blinked, convinced for a moment that his pixelated eyes were deceiving him. He remained motionless as Valentino stumbled forward, unceremoniously using one free arm to knock all of Vox's paperwork and belongings off his desk. The moth overlord set Velvet's battered body on the desk and glared up at him through shattered heart-shaped lenses. Vox flinched when he growled.

─ Quit fucking staring and go get me replacements!

Vox's eyes fixated on the doll demon resting on the desk. Her porcelain skin was cracked all over.

Her body was gone from the chest down.

The TV demon's gaze instinctively shifted to her face.

Was this how his breath catching in his chest and a lump forming in his throat used to feel like?

He couldn't remember.

Velvet was conscious and looked up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks and seeping into the cracks. She weakly extended her remaining arm, reaching out to him.

Valentino took hold of her hand, pressing it against his chest. She curled her fingers around it.

─ _Go! **Now!**_

He was quick to follow the order.

Vox didn't know where he found the doll parts or how long it took for Valentino to put her back together.

Time passed like a silent blur. He couldn't tear his gaze from her pained expression. He didn't count how many times he called her name to bring her back to center, so that she knew she wasn't alone.

He didn't want her to feel alone like he did. Like he made others feel.

Vox already had enough regrets.

He didn't want to regret forgetting the way Velvet smiled at him when she was whole again, tired but relieved, or the way Valentino shook in anger towards the exterminators who dared to damage her. Vox almost felt sorry for the unfortunate soul his friend would, without a doubt, unleash that repressed anger upon.

He didn't want to forget them.

He wanted to remember the joy on Velvet's cracked face when he offered to take her to the movies in order to lift her mood back up, or Valentino's voice, assuring her that she would always be a gorgeous little doll, no matter what.

They regarded him with worry when he announced he needed to go outside shortly after Velvet was back together, holding onto Valentino as she tested her new, still wobbly legs.

When the screams outside went silent, it was a sign that the angels were about to depart. Velvet couldn't stop him, and they all knew Valentino wouldn't leave her alone now.

Looking them in the eyes, Vox assured them he would come back.

Observing the destruction Heaven left behind struck him differently this time.

For the first time, he couldn't tear his gaze from the faces of the fallen.

Why was he seeing them as _equals_ now _,_ instead of empty sacks of torn flesh like he usually did?

They could have been Velvet. They could have been Valentino. They could have been _him_.

Did these demons have people waiting for them to come back like Velvet and Valentino were waiting for Vox?

Did they have friends who cared for them?

Walking through the desolate streets, Vox wondered where he and his friends would be if they had realized that they cared sooner.

Punishment was pointless if there was nowhere to strike. No amount of power could prevent it from striking where it hurt the most.

Vox couldn't stop himself from running his fingers down the handle of a holy spear pierced through a ruined body, not bothered by the permanent burn mark he was sure to get from the contact.

The buzz of another's static colliding with his own prevented him from fully wrapping his hand around the spear.

Turning around, he wasn't surprised to see that familiar face.

This one was unforgettable.

He wasn't surprised to cross paths with his long-time rival at a moment like this. It was just... unexpected.

He presumed Alastor felt the same, judging by the deer demon's contemplative frown.

Vox noted how the deer demon held a bloodied women's hat in his trembling hand. Petals from the bruised roses that decorated it flew with the wind.

There was no disdain on Alastor's features as they stared at each other.

Alastor looked like Vox felt. Tired.

Vox tilted his screen, letting his thoughts wander as he observed that forced grin that seemed as weak as its owner's will to keep smiling.

The television overlord's filtered voice joined the sound of the calm winds.

─ You are one of the few demons in Hell that gets called by his true name. Does it feel good to remember it? Does it keep you attached to who you once were?

The Radio Demon's eyes widened. His grip on the hat tightened and he lowered his head.

─ I envy you, Alastor.

The deer looked up at that, his ears pointing torwards him in an odd manner. Vox stared in confusion as the deer demon's frown deepened.

The sound of a radio jumping between stations became just a little louder than the wind. Vox's screen displayed a frown of his own.

Was that his own voice coming from Alastor's inner station?

The expression on the Radio Demon's face was unlike anything Vox had ever seen on him.

─ **̷̩̻̯̜̇ ̴̛̯ ̶̤͙͆̋̅͜ ̵̗̃͜ ̵̛͔̀̌ ̶̼͊̔ ̸̛̳͓͔̱̌̔̚ ̵̟̔͊͒̍ ̸͎̤͂̔͂̎ ̴̛͉̩̀͒̕͜ ̸̢̟̇ ̴̼̞̫̭ ̷̘̓͝**

Deep inside of him, an inner turmoil started and ceased, both at the same time.

Blank spaces would always stain his memories. The muted words would always remain unintelligible.

But, suddenly, they didn't feel as empty.

Alastor did not wait for Vox to ask who that name belonged to.

─ Your name is **̷̩̻̯̜̇ ̴̛̯ ̶̤͙͆̋̅͜ ̵̗̃͜ ̵̛͔̀̌ ̶̼͊̔ ̸̛̳͓͔̱̌̔̚ ̵̟̔͊͒̍ ̸͎̤͂̔͂̎ ̴̛͉̩̀͒̕͜ ̸̢̟̇ ̴̼̞̫̭ ̷̘̓͝.**

The television demon felt a ghost of a sensation, a small fragment of what eyes filling with tears felt like.

The static they both emitted died down.

Vox stepped forward. Alastor seemed to be in a somewhat stunned state. Instead of pushing him away, the Radio Demon went completely still as his sworn enemy wrapped his arms around him.

Their embrace did not last long, but the weight of a whispered "thank you" did not leave them when Vox let him go.

Alastor stepped back, gaze unfocused.

─ I... I need to return this.

And just liked that, Alastor ran off, clutching that hat tightly to his chest.

Down here, sorrow never truly left.

Some demons weren't heartless. Some could barely withstand what made their hearts bleed.

He still found it funny, though, that when chaos brought back the blurred fragments of the past, Alastor was the one to call him by the very name he thought was lost. Vox kept his eyes on him until he was out of sight, holding on to the echo of his voice.

A sigh left his speakers and his pixels formed a small, genuine smile.

Alastor had someone to come back to.

And so did Vox.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my Twitter, in case you haven't seen my other entries for Staticlovetune Week and feel like checking them out: [@LourenskiA](https://twitter.com/LourenskiA)
> 
> That's all for now. See you next time. o/


End file.
